The Daily Dose/January 25, 2025
By Gaylon Kent – America’s Funniest Guy™
Leading Off
Notes from around the human experience.
HERE WE GO AGAIN: The ignorance of President Donald Trump is as appalling as it is unsurprising. His recent skirmish with the 14th Amendment is only the most recent example. We strongly suspect it will not be the last.
USA! USA! Earlier this week, as part of his Government by Executive Fiat program, Trump signed an executive order mandating the end to birthright citizenship. This is where anyone born in America is entitled to US citizenship, regardless of the citizenship status of their parents. Trump’s order would end this if at least one parent wasn’t a citizen.
Fly In The Ointment: Birthright citizenship, however, is protected by the Constitution, the 14th Amendment being very clear on the matter, with Section I stating, in part, that:
All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States.
That is pretty clear, and while the Constitution can be changed – the 14th Amendment itself is one of those changes – it cannot be changed unilaterally by the president, and its implementation was blocked by a federal judge in Seattle.
Dry, Technical, Matter: The 14th Amendment is one of three amendments adopted after the Civil War that are referred to as the Reconstruction Amendments. It was sent to the several states in June 1866 and ratified two years later.
Back On Message: This whole imbroglio is Trump in a nutshell: govern off the top of your head and bully people until you get your way. A president with some brains would’ve been fully briefed on the matter and been told such an executive order would’ve been unconstitutional. Then again, it is entirely possible Trump was briefed on the matter and ignored his briefing. It’s hard to say if no one in Trump’s inner circle tells him no or if they do and he ignores him.
The Bottom Line: We have four more years of this nonsense. We can’t whine about it, either, because we elected it. How we got to this point, how America came to accept the lies and ignorance of Donald Trump is something all new people – including Americans, if there are any left – can debate a hundred years from now. Yesterday, we only half jokingly referred to the US as the People’s Republic of America. If you and me – we the people – don’t start paying attention, we might well end up exactly that.
Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually.
The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow’s plan to help with Daniel’s car problem unravels. Today’s Diary.
And even if [the lug wrench had fit], we were still up a creek because numbnuts had forgotten his car keys, meaning we had no way to access the trunk to get the spare…
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On This Date
Extra, extra, read all about it.
In 1995 – Russia prepares for a nuclear attack after Norwegian and US scientists launch a rocket carrying scientific equipment from Norway. The Russian military mistakingly took it for a US nuclear missile and activated their nuclear briefcase, giving President Boris Yelstin the option launching a retaliatory attack. Typical of the Russians, the incident was not reported to their citizens for a week, and the incident remains the closest a nuclear power has come to launcing a nuclear weapon since the US attack on Nagasaki in 1945.
In 1894 – James J Corbett defends his world heavyweight boxing title, defeating Charley Mitchell of England in a 3rd-round knockout. It was the only successful title defense for Corbett, who had won the title from John L Sullivan in Sept 1892 and remains Mitchell’s only world title fight. Corbett lost his title to Bob Fitzsimmons in 1897 and lost title fights to James Jeffries in 1900 and 1903.
In 1975 – The Carpenters are at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the only week with Please Mr Postman. It was the 15th of 16 Top 10 hits for the brother and sister duo and their third and final #1 song. The song also went to #1 in Canada, Australia, and South Africa, peaked at #2 in Great Britain, and was Billboard’s 32nd-biggest song of the year. It was the second of 14 consecutive #1 songs to spend only one week at the top, a Hot 100 record that still stands.
Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.
The sportsman trains himself and primes for his particular game…After due…and long preparation…he goes out…{to a place where} most of his townsmen never saw nor dreamed of…He had them halfway in his bag when he started, he has only to shove them down.
Henry David Thoreau
Diary entry, 11/4/1858
Answer To The Last Trivia Questions
Knowledge is power.
The other song to spend 19 weeks at #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 was Old Town Road by Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus in 2019.
Today’s Stumper
Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.
What was the Carpenter’s biggest hit on the Hot 100? – Answer next time!
